Last Updated: Wednesday, 2 January 2008, 13:59 GMT

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Outlook for Asian tigers unsteady

Singapore's economy has shrunk for the first time since 2003
The latest economic data from South Korea and Singapore suggests that the slowdown in US economic growth could be starting to hit East Asia.
South Korea's exports increased by a worse-than-expected 15.5% to $33.25bn (£16.8bn) in December, as it saw its first monthly trade deficit since 2003.

Separately, Singapore's economy shrank in the past three months for the first time in five years.

Both countries are heavily reliant upon US demand for their goods.

A slump in Singapore's semiconductor exports contributed to the country's economy contracting by an annualised 3.2% in the October-to-December period, down from an expansion of 4.4% in its previous quarter.

Emerging market support?

With higher interest rates causing chaos in the US housing market and continued strains in global credit markets, pressures on the finances of the American household are expected to get worse.

Analysts say this is likely to mean a cutback in discretionary spending on goods produced in Asia, mainly electronics and cars.

Yet many remain reasonably upbeat that solid economic growth in India, China and the Middle East will help support East Asian trade from a US slowdown in 2008.

"A slower US economy should hurt in the first half, although solid exports to the emerging markets such as China are expected to keep the growth rate at two digits," said Park Sang-Hyun, chief economist at CJ Investment & Securities in South Korea.

Page last updated at 10:09 GMT, Friday, 25 April 2008 11:09 UK

South Korean economy slows down

Falling exports were one of the big contributors to slowing growth

South Korea's economy slowed in the first three months of the year with growth at its lowest level since 2004, according to the Bank of Korea.

Gross domestic product grew 0.7% from the previous quarter, down from the 1.6% expansion seen at the end of 2007.

Falling exports were largely to blame for the quarterly slowdown along with weak consumer spending.

President Lee Myung-bak took office in February promising to boost annual growth to 7% - it grew 5% in 2007.

everywhere is slowing down...

samthing for europe, japan and america

point?

Read subtitile. SK economy won't grow without china.

Partially true that's why Korea is supporting Beijing Olympic.
But once China don't need Korea anymore, Korea have to look out for other market.
But IMO, Korea should graduate from manufacturing base economy to more financial & service industry.

Current Korean govt aware of this very well, that's why Korea is trying to balance the trade with other market, but in times, Korea is benefiting China's growth. Hopefully it works well for both parties.

are you stupid? why would china not "need" korea? its economy, why would you not need a trading partner?
south korea is one of the biggest foreign investors in china.
thank south korea for china's growth.

It's more like 80 China and 20 South Korea.

Come on can't we be realistic here, how big of land and investment oppurtunities and a population do South Korea have compared to China?

There is obviously more investment from China into South Korea, then vice versa.

And weren't you the person who showed me a bunch of statistics to why Korea's economy doesn't suck these days?

You lousy Chinese kids always bragging on about China > Korea in terms of population and territorial, give me break will ya. You guys should be compare to USA, India and Russia, and still come short.

Just having bigger & larger doesn't mean you are better than others, yes China is developing but you guys aren't there yet.

Btw, SK's population is something like less 3% of that mainland China and much less with rest of SE Asia's Chinese. With just 2% of your population, don't you agreed that SK is done well?

Given SK have practically no natural resource & agricultural lands and covered with over 70% mountainous landscape, hell ya we have done so much better than you guys.

I'm not saying all Koreans are lousey either, it's the South Koreans who have no clue in their own state of mind anymore. Plain and simple South Koreans think and are acting more and more Americanized, pretty soon you will end up loseing your langauage next and start adopting the English language as the only one.

But no fear, North Korea will always preserve the Korean culture.

Heil North Korea, China's friend.

I think Korea should support both USA and China. It's better for our people.

We are technologically superior and much more creative.

China will become another Japan, a big xerox machine copying the Americans.

We've grown this much without China, so frankly i have no idea where you got that from. As far as China's usefulness to Korea, its only if they open up their markets so we can exploit them. Other than that, China is useless to most of the world.

Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia with no land whatsoever have a bigger GDP than South Korea with half its population..

I'm sure Koreans could do it too, but still, Chinese people aren't stupid. It would be like saying North Korea represents the Korean ethnicity's intelligence for likewise accepting poisonous European communism after being destroyed by several European and Japanese wars.



No you're not.

Actually we are more creative.

Do you have proof of this? South Asia's a 3rd world $hithole and South Asians hate the Chinese so I think you are simply delusion and hurt by the truth. The economy of the Indonesia is smaller than South Korea.

Face it the Chinese, will become like the Japanese with no creativity.

Japan = expensive xerox machine
China = cheap xerox machine

Look at it this way, we have the #1 companies in many industries because of our creativity. Our creativity and intelligence far exceeds anyone else in Asia, maybe except some of the Indians.

Southeast Asia's economy is 50-60% owned by the ethnic Chinese minority, which gives them approx. 1.7-2 trillion GDP.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_count...mates_%28PPP%29

2013 GDP per Capita:

Singapore 67,911
Hong Kong 59,323
United States 55,724
Japan 41,724
Republic of China 41,608
South Korea 35,824

Wait. I think your calculations are flawed. I can understand that the GDP per capita may be larger (since the population is much smaller), however, I don't think there is any way that the total GDP could possibly be larger (prove me wrong if you can).
Do 30 million Chinese really control 50-60% of the Southeast Asian Economy, which boasts a population of over 550 million? If it's true, than its both amazing and extremely sad at the same time.

50-70% of companies in the private sector and most of the top performing companies, yes. They achieve this success through hard work and trade relations/guanxi with China. Lots of cheap labor and goods come in from China, which comes through the Chinese middle men who pass lower prices into the Southeast Asian economies.

Chinese people earned their money through honest work not by cheating people. I'm not sure of the exact amount, but the estimate ranges from 60-80k per capita for the SEA Chinese.

I'm not putting SK down btw, just saying that Chinese people aren't stupid. I know Koreans are extremely intelligent and industrious.

People, you don't use purchasing power parity (PPP), you use nominal in terms of real per capita purchasing power.

real terms only matters for import export, and since China makes everything the ratios of RMB to ASEAN currencies balances itself out. if PPP and Nominal achieved parity without China matching it the ASEAN Chinese would just lose exports and get what in exchange? Overpriced European crap?

More like Korea will revert to being the vassal state (a.k.a. slave state) of China just like in the good ol days.

Puhlease....Korea is scrambling desperate for business in China whereas Chinese think of Korea as some annoying appendage sticking out of Manchuria where they can dumb trash and have plastic surgery. LOL

Hahaha..intelligence in Korea? Koreans are the people who believe that sleeping with a fan on can kill you and they also believe the lies and bull$hit that their brainwashing government forces down their throats regarding US beef. At least Chinese (or any other nation) can think for themselves without relying on Naver or OhMyNews as the Holy Gospel. Koreans are like sheep...can't think for themselves and follow the herd.

Yeah right..Koreans creative? Puhahahah! That's like saying Adolf Hitler likes Jews. Almost 70% of the national debt of Korea is from royalties paid to Chinese, Japanese and American companies for "borrrowing" their technologies and infrastructure. The rest of it, Korea just steals it and calls it their own. SamSUCKS and LG are carbon copies of GE, Sony, Panasonic.

At least China creates its own and keeps it that way. We are totally self sufficient without having to bow down to other superpowers because China is a superpower, unlike Korea.